


Protecting Each Other

by overunderachiever



Series: Soulmate September 2020 [6]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Minor Violence, Protective Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Protective Deceit | Janus Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Vomiting, because he always is, but there is a bit of fist fighting, can be read as romantic or platonic really, didn't think it should be tagged as graphic, its a little drunken brawl really, melodramatic criticism of society, not very good at it tho, only once and also not very graphic, slightly better at it than janus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26029456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overunderachiever/pseuds/overunderachiever
Summary: If it wasn't Janus getting into a drunken fight on a Saturday evening then it would be his soulmate. By this point it was almost a bonding activity, and Janus felt very protective of whoever was on the other end of the soul bond.Or: Janus gets drunk and "saves" his soulmate from a fight.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: Soulmate September 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872199
Comments: 6
Kudos: 125





	Protecting Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> There isn't really a lot to this one, and it's quite short. But I just really love Virgil and Janus protecting each other and I felt like this was a good prompt for them.
> 
> Also any and all violence in this is what I would describe as mild and not very graphic btw.

Janus glared into his almost-empty beer glass. He didn't know how many he'd had by that point, nor did he know how long he'd been glaring, but he did know he was drunk enough to feel slightly nauseous. He could probably have another before he was too intoxicated to walk home but it was just too much effort to even raise his head to look for the barman.

He felt a dull thudding pain across his back that probably meant his soulmate had just been shoved into a wall; seriously whoever they were really needed to get beat up less. His brooding was ruined by the instinct to find and protect his soulmate welling up inside him. Though maybe that was vomit.

It wasn't as though Janus was any better at avoiding causing his soulmate pain. All throughout school he had been bullied for a variety of reasons, and the only reason he wasn't wallowing in guilt about causing his soulmate pain was that they had also clearly been bullied to the same extent, causing him pain. He had no idea why his soulmate was so disliked but he supposed bullies rarely needed a reason.

Even now, if it wasn't him getting into a drunken fight on a Saturday evening then his soulmate would be. On a few memorable occasions the fighting had coincided - it really made it easier to stand up for yourself when you were also feeling the phantom pain of someone else's nose breaking.

For the record, Janus didn't resent his soulmate for any of this. On the contrary, by this point it was almost a bonding activity. Clearly both were at the bottom of society, repeatedly shat on by people higher up, and it would at the very least give them a lot in common to talk about when they finally did meet, if ever.

Janus would probably never admit it, but he felt very protective of whichever unfortunate person happened to be on the other end of the soul bond. Every time they did so much as hit their funny bone, he yearned (no not yearned, Janus didn't yearn) to find them and kiss it better. It was such a soppy thing to think, and he tried to persuade himself that all he wanted was to hurt whoever had hurt him by hurting his soulmate, but really Janus wanted nothing more than to find them, give them some painkillers, and then together they could start fighting back against the bitch of a world.

And there he went again, thinking those ridiculously romantic things. (Romantic by Janus' standards anyway.) It was sickening really, that he cared so much for a person he had never met. But he just felt like they had some companionship through shared trauma.

At that thought, Janus glared harder at his now-slightly-more-empty beer as if it was the sole cause of his problems. The glare quickly turned to a sneer and then disgust as he felt someone land a sickening punch to his soulmate's stomach. Sickening in the literal sense as he suddenly felt the beer and day-old pizza make a vertical bid for freedom. He shoved away from the bar, stumbling outside into the cool night air in an attempt to not throw up indoors.

Barely two feet from the door two men were brawling - or rather one had the other trapped against the wall and was raising his fist to hit him. With his blurry vision, Janus felt rather than saw the fist collide with the man's stomach, hastening the exit of the contents of his own.

Someone was hitting his soulmate.

In one moment of protective anger and a drunken lack of self-preservation, Janus took aim and threw up all over the attacker's shoes.

"What the actual fuck dude?" Came an enraged voice, accompanied by the phantom pain in his ass of his soulmate being dropped on the ground.

Somehow, vomiting had given Janus a much clearer view of the situation he had just gotten himself into. He straightened up to stare directly into the eyes of the much larger and very angry man, reading himself to run the fuck away.

He halfheartedly tried to come up with a witty retort but the fog of alcohol clouding his mind was far from helpful. His attempt was forgotten when the man clumsily swung a punch at him. Janus ducked enough to avoid a broken nose but the fist clipped the top of his head instead making him stumble.

Behind the bully, his soulmate was climbing shakily to his feet, wincing when Janus was hit, expression quickly turning to protective anger to rival Janus' own.

As the oaf drew back his fist again, Janus saw his soulmate steel himself before suddenly charging and slamming into the man's side with enough force to send him stumbling into the gutter. Janus' soulmate seemed momentarily shocked at his success before raising a fist and decking the bully with surprising force. There was a short shooting pain across Janus' own knuckles but not enough to suggest anything other than the bully's nose was broken.

"Stay the fuck away from me and my soulmate!" the other yelled.

To everyone's surprise, the oaf just gave an ugly sneer, spat on the floor, grumbled some obscenities and...left, ambling down the street and around the corner.

Then Janus keeled over, narrowly avoiding his pavement-pizza, to be caught by his soulmate.

"Shit dude, you didn't have to do that."

"Yes because you totally weren't about to get pummelled." Janus slurred. "I caused a distraction."

"By throwing up on him!"

Janus hiccuped and tried to stand up again but had to lean heavily on the other. "Well it worked."

His soulmate sighed. "My hero." He guided Janus to sit on a bench by the wall. "I assume you worked out we're soulmates?"

Janus nodded. "Yep! 'm drunk!...Nonono...'m Janus!" he said, triumphant that he'd remembered this basic fact. It was difficult to concentrate when everything was fuzzy and his very pretty, and apparently very feisty, soulmate was sitting next to him with an arm around him to stop him falling over.

"Oh please tell me that's spelt how I think it is." His soulmate laughed. "And uh my name's Virgil I guess...

Janus gave a hiccupy giggle. "Virgin!"

"Anus!" Virgil retaliated.

This was much funnier to the two tipsy men than it should have been and they snickered for several minutes before eventually heading home. They staggered more than walked, leaning heavily on each other and attempting to glare threateningly at anyone they encountered on the way. Honestly they just looked ridiculous but they were too drunk to care. Both men had spent far too long knowing exactly what pain the other was going through while being unable to help, and they were damn well gonna look out for each other now they could.

They would both have terrible hangovers tomorrow, but it hardly mattered as they stumbled into Janus' flat, collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep.

~~*~~

**Author's Note:**

> There we go. This was quite fun to write, though I don't know if I really got either characterisation right. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Let me know what you thought!


End file.
